Numerous military systems employ sensors which image in the infrared. A thorough testing of these sensors requires a controlled generation of simulated, yet realistic scenes that can be produced in a laboratory or indoor test range. The creation of artificial scenes in the infrared is technically difficult and the current state of the art is not as sophisticated as, for example, the art of creating artificial scenes in visible light where numerous types of projectors, cathode ray tubes, plasma displays, and liquid crystal displays are available. In fact, a technology of creating artificial scenes in the infrared which is available from CI Systems, Inc. is representative of the current commercial state of the art. The CI Systems technology achieves the simulation of infrared scenes by moving perforated puppets and silhouettes in front of a thermal source of radiation. Some other current techniques include arrays of small resistors which are made to glow from the heat induced by an electric current applied to them and the use of liquid crystal devices to modulate a beam of infrared radiation.